50 Years of the Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs—Going Strong!
Article Outline
AAP, American Academy of Pediatrics, ABP, American Board of Pediatrics, AMSPDC, Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs, APPD, Association of Pediatric Program Directors, APS, American Pediatric Society, COMSEP, Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics, CoPS, Council of Pediatric Subspecialties, FIS, Frontiers in Science Program, FOPO, Federation of Pediatric Organizations, JCNPS, Joint Council of National Pediatric Societies, NACHRI, National Association of Children’s Hospital and Related Institutions, NIH, National Institutes of Health, PPC, Public Policy Council, PSDP, Pediatric Scientist Development Program, SPR, Society for Pediatric Research
Charles Janeway, Professor and Chairman of Pediatrics at Harvard and Boston Children’s Hospital, informally convened a small group of pediatric chairs at the annual American Pediatric Society (APS)–Society for Pediatric Research (SPR) meeting 50 years ago to discuss common challenges.1 This inaugural meeting was followed, in 1961, by a second meeting of 84 chairs at the Brookhaven National Laboratories on Long Island, leading to the birth of the “Chairmen of Pediatrics in American and Canadian Schools.” In 1964, the group adopted a constitution and bylaws and changed its name to the “Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairmen,” becoming officially incorporated in 1967. In 1997, the name was changed to the “Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs (AMSPDC),” in recognition of the increasingly significant role of women leaders within the organization. Details of the early history of AMSPDC have been chronicled previously.1 The membership of AMSPDC now consists of the chair, acting chair, or academic administrative head of the department of pediatrics of each of 141 of the 150 Liaison Committee on Medical Education-accredited medical schools in the United States and Canada.
AMSPDC is led by an executive committee consisting of a president, president elect, past president, secretary–treasurer, 8 American chairs, and 1 Canadian chair. The general membership of AMSPDC is also active in contributing to its annual meetings and serving on various committees and task forces. For many years, the day-to-day operations of the organization resided in the capable hands of Jean Bartholomew, an employee of the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP). AMSPDC paid the ABP for Ms Bartholomew’s services, but also benefited greatly from the ABP’s largesse; in 2009, Degnon Associates assumed this role.
In 2007, AMSPDC leadership undertook a strategic planning initiative that led to the development of AMSPDC’s current mission (“to pursue optimal health outcomes of children through the development of successful academic pediatric departments across North America”) and vision (“to be the major voice for academic pediatrics in North America”) statements, value statement, and revised bylaws.2
Although a major focus of AMSPDC has been to serve as a forum for mutual support, interactions, and information sharing for academic pediatric chairs during the last 50 years, the organization has also established a legacy of several major accomplishments. Some of these accomplishments are highlighted below in each of the major core academic missions of research, education, advocacy, and mentorship.
Research
Among the organization’s major notable accomplishments in research was the establishment, in 1987, of the Pediatric Scientist Development Program (PSDP), in collaboration with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), APS, SickKids Foundation (Toronto), Paediatric Chairs of Canada, March of Dimes, and the St. Jude Children’s Research Foundation (http://medicine.yale.edu/pediatrics/scientistdevelopment/). This program was developed initially under the guidance of Dr Frederick Battaglia following an in-depth, 18-month study by an AMSPDC task force responding to the substantial decline in both the number of physicians receiving postdoctoral research training and the number of young, research-trained academic physicians who were receiving National Institutes of Health (NIH) Individual Research Grants and were qualified for positions in academic pediatric departments. The task force identified postdoctoral research training as a critical period of career development for pediatric academic scientists, and thus the PSDP was established. The PSDP offers an intense, full-time experience in basic, translational, or clinical research training in eminent research laboratories in the United States and Canada. As many as 3 years of research training are funded by the program after the completion of the clinical fellowship years. A sponsoring pediatric department assumes responsibility for support of the clinical fellowship. Since 1987, the PSDP program has trained >150 pediatric scientists in the United States and Canada, several of whom have gone on to develop exemplary individual research programs at major academic institutions in North America and have become leaders in their fields. These investigators now have become the mentors for a large cohort of pre-doctoral and postdoctoral trainees around the world. Graduates from the PSDP program show a much higher success rate in NIH and other national funding when compared with the overall NIH success rates. AMSPDC also established the Frontiers in Science Program (FIS), in 1987, as part of its annual meetings. This program is designed to expose pediatric residents to outstanding pediatric investigators to stimulate their interest in academic pediatrics. Each year, one-third of all pediatric residency programs are invited to send one of their trainees to attend the meeting. Several of these residents have gone on to become fellows of the PSDP program and independent pediatric scientists. Support for FIS has included pharmaceutical and federal grants, and starting in 2010, partial support has been obtained from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Education
AMSPDC has been integral in promoting excellence in medical education at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.
Undergraduate Medical Education
AMSPDC was directly responsible for establishing the Council on Medical Student Education in Pediatrics (COMSEP) in 1992 (http://www.comsep.org/index.htm). COMSEP, a subsidiary organization of AMSPDC, is now the leading organization championing the cause of undergraduate pediatric medical education in North America. COMSEP functions as a forum for pediatric clerkship directors (and other medical student educators) to exchange ideas and work collaboratively and to foster their personal development. COMSEP members have a significant impact on pediatric medical student education through the development of innovative curricula, new teaching methods, scholarly work, evaluation methods, and faculty development programs for both COMSEP and non-COMSEP pediatric educators. COMSEP has an annual meeting and meets jointly with AMSPDC every 4 years.
Graduate Medical Education
AMSPDC was one of the inaugural supporters, with the ABP and the AAP, of the founding of the Association of Pediatric Program Directors (APPD) in 1984 (http://www.appd.org/home/index.cfm?CFID=284887&CFTOKEN=53815650). APPD fosters collaboration between pediatric residency programs and their directors to advance the art and science of pediatric education. The APPD was formed independently of AMSPDC to enable non-medical school programs to participate, but the two groups have worked closely together to improve the quality of residency training education across North America. APPD and AMSPDC members interact on several committees, including the Council on Pediatric Education and the Federation of Pediatric Organizations (FOPO). AMSPDC and APPD have worked jointly with the ABP on the Residency Review and Redesign in Pediatrics Program and, subsequently, the Initiative for Innovation in Pediatric Education, which seeks to initiate, facilitate, and sustain ongoing innovative change in pediatric education.
AMSPDC was also instrumental in helping to establish and fund the Council of Pediatric Subspecialties (CoPS) in 2006 (http://www.pedsubs.org/about/Creation.cfm). CoPS consists of 2 members from those subspecialties in which the ABP offers a certificate of special qualifications, in addition to liaison representatives from other pediatric organizations. The CoPS mission is to serve as a common voice and to provide a forum for its members and other organizations to integrate approaches to subspecialty education, research, and patient care. CoPS has already successfully worked collaboratively in promoting the use of Electronic Residency Application Service for pediatric subspecialty matches and provided a strong commentary on the recent Institute of Medicine report3 on resident duty hours, among its many accomplishments.
Advocacy
AMSPDC has been a strong voice on various issues concerning children. Early in its history, AMSPDC was a member of the Joint Council of National Pediatric Societies (known as the Joint Council or JCNPS), which also included the AAP, APS, SPR, and the Association of Teachers of Maternal and Child Health. Founded in 1967, JCNPS expired in the 1970s, after the dismantling of the Children’s Bureau, which it actively opposed.4 The purpose of the council was to “coordinate and express common policy matters related to national issues affecting child health.” JCNPS representatives, including AMSPDC members, regularly appeared at hearings held by the House and Senate Appropriations Committee, the House Ways and Means Committee, and the Senate Finance Committee. During its existence, JCNPS was active in gaining increased support for research and research training funds for pediatrics and was proactive in advocating for changes that led to the development of regional newborn intensive care programs, Maternal and Infant Care Projects, and the Children and Youth demonstration programs managed by state health departments throughout the United States.4
In 2001, AMSPDC established the AMSPDC Pages in The Journal of Pediatrics, which has served as an important forum to present ideas and studies related to major academic pediatric issues. In 2007, all the women chairs in the United States and Canada co-authored an article (a first for women leaders of any specialty in North America) on supporting the expanding role of women in pediatrics. This article highlights 4 major focus areas: (1) option to work part time; (2) need for high-quality child care; (3) need for flexibility for female physician scientists; and (4) desire for more women in leadership positions.5
ASMPDC was one of the major founders of FOPO and has worked collaboratively through its partners in FOPO to present a strong national voice related to children’s issues6 (http://www.fopo.org/leadership.html). FOPO has also worked assiduously to increase the role of women in pediatrics and, especially, advocating for ways to improve the environment for women to take on more leadership positions.5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 AMSPDC also sits on the National Association of Children’s Hospital and Related Institutions (NACHRI) Advocacy Board and has worked closely with NACHRI to help influence national bills related to children and to identify ways in which pediatric department chairs and hospital chief executive officers can have more fruitful and collaborative relationships.12
AMSPDC is a founding partner of the Public Policy Council (PPC) that combines advocacy efforts with the APS and the SPR. Through the PPC, AMSPDC participates on the Committee on Federal Government Affairs of the AAP. Currently, AMPSDC, APS, and SPR are working with the AAP to reformulate the mission and functioning of the PPC in an effort to better support advocacy missions of these other organizations. AMSPDC is also a member of the Council of Academic Societies, a subsection of the American Association of Medical Colleges.
On the international scene, AMSPDC was a lead supporting organization involved in the establishment, in 2007, of the International Pediatric Academic Leadership Association (http://www.academicpediatrics.org/mission.html), originally called the International Pediatric Chairs Association. The mission of the International Pediatric Academic Leadership Association is to promote international collaboration in pediatrics and child health and to foster excellence in education, research, and clinical practice in the field of pediatrics and child health.
During the debates leading up to the Affordable Health Care for America Act, the entire AMSPDC membership was actively engaged with the AAP, NACHRI, and other leading pediatric organizations in ensuring the inclusion of provisions to protect and advance the health and well-being of children in the United States, including support for pediatric subspecialty care.
Mentorship
In 2008, after a survey that showed a high (20%) annual turnover in pediatric chairs, AMSPDC started a formal mentorship program for new chairs.13 This program pairs experienced chairs with new chairs and complements an established New Chairs Symposium that has been held every 3 years during the AMSPDC Annual Meeting for several decades. The symposium addresses the most common and challenging issues faced by new pediatric chairs, and the mentorship program allows new chairs longitudinal access to established chairs for support and trouble-shooting of challenging situations. In addition to frequent electronic and phone contact, chair mentors are strongly encouraged to visit the home site of their mentees to gain a better understanding of the problems that the new chair is facing. This onsite visit is underwritten by AMSPDC. Although it is somewhat early to judge the overall impact of the mentorship program on chair longevity, the feedback from participants has been excellent.
On the basis of the apparent success of the chair mentoring program, AMSPDC has recently begun the process of developing a leadership program for emerging and interim leaders in pediatrics. This program is being designed to help develop the next generation of potential pediatric chairs and is expected to combine formal, symposia-type sessions with peer-to-peer mentoring and mentoring of prospective chairs by established chairs.
In addition, AMSPDC works closely with and supports the Association of Administrators of Academic Pediatrics, especially in giving input on the Annual Faculty Salary and Activity Survey. AMSPDC has been collaborating with the Association of Administrators of Academic Pediatrics in developing a robust pediatric definition of full-time clinical faculty with corresponding, specialty-specific revenue-generating-unit expectations.
Conclusion
AMSPDC has made a significant impact on various aspects of academic pediatrics during the last 50 years, including research, education, advocacy, outreach, and mentorship. Most of the accomplishments can be attributed to collaboration and cooperation by several distinguished leaders who have given their time and enormous talents in a manner very emblematic of pediatricians in general. Although the field of pediatrics continues to face significant challenges in several areas, including adequate workforce numbers, reimbursement, research funding, and training-related issues, the gallant efforts of our past and current colleagues have paved the way for tremendous hope that we, as an organization, are more than capable of rising to meet these and other challenges we may face in the next 50 years.
References
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- . The response of the APPD, CoPS and AAP to the Institute of Medicine report on resident duty hours. Pediatrics. 2010;125:786–790
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All authors are members of the Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs.
PII: S0022-3476(11)00179-X
doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2011.02.016
© 2011 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.
